The invention relates to floor anchor brackets for anchoring a bathroom partition pilaster to a floor surface, specifically a pilaster attachment bracket for connecting a pilaster to a surface anchor.
Subdividing walls and individual compartments in bathrooms and washrooms are generally not standard construction built-out walls, but instead are a collection of vertical bathroom partitions that are installed after the room has been finished. In order to provide adequate stability and support, these bathroom partitions are attached to a vertical support column, known as a stile or pilaster. The bathroom partitions are usually attached by brackets to a pilaster, in a plane perpendicular to the pilaster. Even when one end of a bathroom partition is mounted to a traditional wall, the other end generally terminates at a pilaster. Pilasters are also used to frame doors in bathroom compartments, with the door mounted in line with two pilasters. Pilasters are generally anchored to the floor, hung from the ceiling, or both.
There are several types of anchors available for attaching such pilasters to the floor. The most simple are single-piece brackets, where a single bracket anchors a pilaster to the floor. This type of bracket is generally a metal xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shaped bracket, with one leg of the xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d anchored to the floor, and the other leg of the xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d attached to one side of the pilaster.
While this bracket features simplicity, it lacks adjustability. Also, as the bracket is located on only one side of the pilaster, it has a limited ability to withstand side loading. Side loading is important for two main reasons: First, under standard loading conditions, bathroom partitions are attached to and extend perpendicularly from a pilaster, creating a side load on the pilaster. Second, bathroom compartments are often subject to vandalism, including kicking and other forces acting on both the bathroom partitions and the pilasters, which in turn create large lateral loads on the pilaster.
A U-shaped pilaster anchor bracket is also known, with a horizontal surface parallel to the floor, anchored to the floor, and two parallel vertical sides, which extend upward on either side of the pilaster. The pilaster is set in the bracket and attached by screws which extend through holes in the vertical sides of the bracket. Although this bracket provides improved lateral stability over the previously described bracket, it still does not provide flexibility and adjustability in installation.
Dual brackets are also known, where each pilaster is anchored by two separate brackets. Generally, these brackets are xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shaped, with the horizontal leg of the xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d anchored to the floor, and the vertical leg attached to the narrow end wall of the pilaster, often through a slot in the vertical leg.
Although providing some degree of horizontal flexibility and adjustability, this type of dual bracket does not offer vertical flexibility, as once the horizontal and vertical legs of the bracket are attached to the floor and pilaster respectively, there is no way to vertically adjust the bracket with respect to either the floor or the pilaster. In addition, because this bracket connects only to the narrow end walls of the pilaster, any lateral forces along the sides of the pilaster are borne entirely by the screws attaching to the end wall, making failure more likely under the typical side loading discussed previously.
Finally, the use of dual two-piece brackets is also known. Generally, the horizontal leg of an xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shaped bracket is attached to the floor, while the vertical leg provides an attachment point for the second bracket. The second bracket is also generally xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shaped, with the horizontal leg attaching to the bottom of the pilaster, and the vertical leg attaching to the vertical leg of the first xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shaped bracket. Two such two-piece brackets are used to attach each pilaster.
These brackets attach to the bottom of the pilaster, with screws attached in what is generally unfinished particle board. The pilaster acts as a moment arm, and even a small lateral load near the upper end of a pilaster produces great torque at the base of the pilaster, which can cause the pilaster to pull out from the screws. As the screws in the end of the pilaster are the only portion of the anchor bracket keeping the pilaster from pulling away from the floor, any lateral force is effectively transmitted directly to the screws, and thus failure, with the screws and the pilaster pulling apart, is not uncommon.
Additionally, these xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shaped brackets generally require flanges at the vertex of the xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d, as the load from the pilaster is transmitted to the horizontal portion of a bracket rather than directly down the vertical portion, creating torque about the vertex of the bracket, and requiring rigidity within the bracket. This rigidity requirement, usually requiring a brace or flange at the vertex of the bracket, increases the manufacturing cost of the xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shaped bracket.
In view of the above, it should be appreciated that there is still a need for a floor anchor bracket for a pilaster providing increased lateral support, decreased material costs and a stronger and more substantial attachment to the pilaster, while still providing horizontal and vertical adjustability and flexibility in installation. The present invention satisfies these and other needs and provides further related advantages.
The present invention is embodied in a pilaster assembly for bathroom partitions providing increased lateral support, stronger and more substantial attachment to a pilaster, horizontal and vertical adjustability and flexibility in installation, and decreased material costs. The pilaster assembly includes a vertically oriented end wall, with an upper surface and an inner face, and two vertical side walls, perpendicular to and extending laterally relative to the inner face of the end wall, with each side wall having an upper end and an inner face. The inner faces of the side walls are parallel and spaced sufficiently apart to receive a pilaster, and the upper surface of the side walls is higher than the upper surface of the end wall. The pilaster is received between the side walls, with the bottom of the pilaster vertically supported by the upper surface of the end wall.
A feature of the present invention is its parallel vertical side walls, which straddle the pilaster. These side walls provide increased lateral stability. The previously known upper bracket portion attached to the pilaster through the unfinished bottom of the pilaster, and thus lateral or tensile loading was transmitted directly to the screws. In the present invention, the vertical sidewalls receive the majority of side loading, greatly reducing the load directly on the screws. Further, in the present invention, the screw or screws attaching the bracket to the pilaster are oriented horizontally, and thus any side load transmitted to the screws is along the axis of the screws, where the screws are designed to be loaded, rather than a load perpendicular to the screws, as in the prior bracket.
Another feature of the present invention is that the screws attaching the anchor to the pilaster attach through the finished side surface of the pilaster, which is generally a laminate layer. This provides increased holding ability for the screws, as the laminate or finished side surface of the pilaster is much more durable than the unfinished particle board that generally comprises the end of a pilaster, and is much more resistant to a tensile type load.
Another feature of the present invention is reduced material costs. The bracket is designed to be made from a single piece of material, which allows the bracket to be stamped from a flat sheet, then bent into form. The pattern of the brackets on the sheet allows the brackets to be stamped in a progressive die, where the flat bracket patterns are aligned end to end, reducing waste. Because the vertical end wall of the bracket provides direct vertical support to the pilaster, there is no need to provide braces or flanges to strengthen the bracket, simplifying the manufacture of the bracket, reducing costs and saving time. Further, the present invention requires only one screw to attach the pilaster to the upper portion of the bracket, and thus uses fewer screws than presently known two-piece brackets.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.